1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lap table for children, and is more particularly concerned with a table top for use in a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Families have been spending more time in their vehicles for many reasons such as work schedules and vacationing. Keeping children occupied for long periods of time while traveling in a vehicle has always been a problem for some parents. There are not very many flat surfaces in the passenger seats of vehicles for children to draw. For this reason, lap boards or tables have been the subject of earlier patents.
Lap tables have been the subject of both earlier design and utility patents. Earlier design patents have ornamental designs of table top surfaces which include squared, rectangular, and circular. Unfortunately, many table top edges that embody sharp corners can pose a safety problem if the vehicle is involved in an accident or stops suddenly, and other passengers could be injured by the sharp corners as well. Another safety problem that could occur in the above situation is that the board's flat shape could cut into the child's abdomen. There is a need for a lap table designed to prevent sharp table top edges from injuring a child in this manner.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 280,216, issued to Carl Boklund on Aug. 20, 1985 is a box-shaped lap table with an interior storage compartment. Attached to the bottom compartment of the table is a partially opened top to give the user access to the inner compartment. The upper surface of the lid area is a blackboard used for drawing with chalk. Unfortunately, this design sits too high on a child's lap, for this reason, children cannot rest their arms comfortably on the table top's surface. An ideal design for a lap table would allow the child to rest their arms on the table top's surface comfortably to draw. This prior art patent is too high for the child to rest their arms on the table's top surface. Therefore, it should be desirable that the table top be no higher than the child's elbows.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 329,547, issued to Hugh Hageman on Sep. 22, 1992 is an ornamental design consisting of a rectangular shape lap table top with several holding wells in a smaller rectangular shaped extension located at the distal front side. A single plastic U-shape handle is attached to the opposite side panel for carrying purposes. The location of the handle on this device would be very uncomfortable for the user if the handle is pressed against the user's abdomen.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 374,357, issued to McCray, et al. on Oct. 8, 1996 is an ornamental design of another lap table consisting of a square table top with a downward perpendicular lip to be supported on the user's thighs. A clip is attached above the lip on the top of the desk to hold various flat items in place. One side of the desk top which comes in contact with the user has a shallow concave shape to fit the shape of the user's belly. A small straight strip is attached alongside the tip of the concave depression on the surface of the desk top.
Lap tables or boards have been the subject of earlier utility patents. Like the design patent mentioned above, U.S. Pat. No. 2,640,747, issued to George Bodenhoff on Jun. 2, 1953 is an earlier utility patent of a table top which is square in shape but has one side contoured to fit the abdominal area of the body and a foldable supporting member or leg contoured to fit perpendicularly on the thighs of the users. The supporting member that sits on the user's thighs in patents by McCray et al. and G. Bodenhoff can be very uncomfortable to the user for long periods of time due to the concentration of the table's weight distributed to a small area across both thighs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,647,678, issued to Douglas Olson on Aug. 4, 1953 describes a lap table which is circular in shape with raised sides that function to secure paper plates. A thin half-moon shaped gripping structure is hinged to the bottom of the table for the knees to grip and can be folded parallel with the table. Although this would be useful for holding paper plates filled with food, the raised edges would make it very difficult for a child to use the table's top surface to draw on.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,676, issued to Griffith, et al. on Oct. 1, 1996 describes a desk which is not placed on the lap, but mounted in the passenger seat and held by the vehicle's lap belt to adjust the height of the top of the desk and leveling of the desk. A slide that is movable from the desk top extends toward the driver's seat. The desk has various sized recesses to hold office supplies, cups, portable computer, and eyeglasses. This device is specifically design for an adult and would not be very practical for a child.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,191, issued to Charlotte Cramer on Oct. 1, 1957 describes a disposable foldable lap tray for food and beverages. The tray is comprised of cardboard and its design includes a top, bottom, rear, and side panels where the side panels have locking members which also function as U-shape handles. There are no recesses, instead, the top panel has partially perforated areas which can be pushed through to hold glasses/cups and various sized plates. The partial perforations in the top panel would make it difficult for a child to draw on.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,973, issued to Vulpitta, et al. on Oct. 28, 1997 describes a carrying bag with shoulder straps. The carrying bag includes a front side wall, a rear side wall and edge walls extending therebetween which define a main compartment. It has zippered side compartments and a clip on the top surface for holding items. The bag has a box-like shape so that it may be used as a writing surface.
Children need a lap table that can be easily transported by carrying it using its handles. It should contain features in the design shape to lessen the risk of injury to both the user and to others. Lap tables have been known to cause some tension on the user's back. A lap table should be able to sit comfortably on the user's thighs for long periods of time with causing discomfort.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a lap table for children solving the aforementioned problems is desired.